Page 12 of One Month's Notice

“It was great, apart from the stumbling over my words, feeling completely out of place and being not at all suited for the role. Oh, and the cappuccino foam on the nose.”

“What did I tell you?” Lexi fired her a scolding look before relaxing her expression. “I’m sure you did fine. That sounds like any job interview and you have got so many transferrable skills. You’re just putting yourself down, as usual.”

“I haven’t finished. Guess who walked into the coffee shop?”

Lexi shrugged her shoulders.

“Joe.”

“Oh, what happened?”

“It wasn’t just Joe. It was Joe and his new girlfriend. After I saw them, I was totally distracted and couldn’t concentrate.”

“Of all the people to walk in.” Lexi rubbed Nat’s arm. “It might still be OK though?”

“I doubt it. Michael did the strangest thing, though. Which, now I think about it, must have been because he knew he wasn’t going to give me the job and felt even more sorry for me. This is going to sound unusual—” Nat paused, taking a slow breath “—but he waited until he knew Joe was looking over, then he took my hand and kissed it.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Lexi’s jaw dropped.

“I know, right? It sounds a bit creepy now I’ve said it out loud. Although, it didn’t feel like that at the time.” Nat thought back to the coffee shop and his soft lips as they traced her hand. The memory of the intimate gesture sent a tingling sensation down her spine. She remembered the smell as she lifted her hand to brush her hair off her face. She almost hadn’t washed her hands as she didn’t want to remove the traces he had left behind—the warm, spicy scent that made a statement without being overpowering. A scent she could definitely get used to and nothing like the cheap fake stuff Joe used to buy off the internet.

“He’s good-looking, isn’t he?” Lexi narrowed her eyes at Nat.

“I suppose some people might think that.” Nat’s cheeks flushed.

“Bloody hell.” Lexi sat back in her chair. “That’s definitely not your average job interview.”

Nat’s phone buzzed in her hand. There was a new voicemail, so she dialled the number and put it on loudspeaker.

“Hi, Natalie. It’s Michael. Thanks for coming to the interview yesterday. Could you give me a call back when you have a few minutes? Thanks.”

“Oh, sexy voice!” Lexi purred like a cat.

“I suppose that’ll take the edge off when he tells me I haven’t got the job.”

Despite Nat’s usual sunny disposition, the recent spate of rejections had really knocked her confidence. She was finding it difficult to summon any kind of positivity. “Well, here goes nothing.” Nat lifted the phone to her ear and waited for Michael to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hi Michael, it’s Nat.”

The momentary pause caused Nat’s stomach to lurch. He couldn’t have forgotten who she was already?

“Oh Natalie, thanks for calling back. I wanted to have a quick chat with you about the interview.”

Nat drew in a long breath to brace herself for the bad news.

“So, obviously, you don’t really have any direct experience in being a PA…”

Nat nodded along as she listened to Michael speak, willing him to get to the end so she could hang up and move on. It was clear she hadn’t impressed him, so she didn’t want her humiliation to drag on any longer.

“…but compared to the other candidates, and the poor decisions the HR team has made recently on who they have appointed for this role, I thought I would give you a chance.” Michael coughed. “You do seem to have good transferrable skills and hopefully you will be a quick learner.”

The phone went silent. Nat was too stunned to speak.

“Are you still there?”

“Oh yes, sorry.” Nat’s voice wavered. “I don’t know what to say.”

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